Safety latch for sliding closures



v Feb. 24, 1942.l o. D. KINGYSLAND I 2,274,552

SAFETY LATCH FOR SLIDING CLOSURES original Filed Aprills, 194C @GMA Patented Feb. 24, 1942 I 2,274,552 y I SAFETY LATCH Fon sLmING cLosUREs OliverID. Kingsland, Rochesteig'N. Y. j ofiginaiapplication April 1s, 1940, serial No.

Divided and this application November 20, 1940*,lSlerial N0. 366,493

iciaim. rc1. 18g- 72) 'This invention relates'towan improvement in safety latches for sliding closures and forms a division of my ccpending. lapplication entitled Closures, filed April 18,' 1940, and bearing the Serial Number 330,417. v

It is a particular aim of this invention to pro vide a safety latch of simple construction for use on vertically sliding closures and adapted to be actuated by the closure striking an obstruction in the opening of the frame in which it is mounted, for `actuating the safety latch for latching the closure to the frame to thereby prevent further downward movement' of the closure toward a closed position.

Still another aim of the invention is to pro vide a latch which, when in an engaged position, will prevent the closure from moving downwardly in its frame but which will not prevent the closure from being raised and which, when the closure is raised, will be automatically released and will return of its own accord to a released position for returning the means-which projects the latch to a position to again project the latch when the closure again strikes an obstruction While moving downwardly in the frame opening.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view partly in section of a vertically sliding closure mounted in a closure frame and equipped with the safety latch, and

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view, partly in elevation, of one of the lower corners of the closure and frame.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the different views, I designates generally a perpendicular closure frame including the spaced perpendicular pillars having inwardly opening channels I2 for slidably mounting a closure I3.

The closure I3 is provided with a bottom rail I4 including a section |5 which is hollow and to which is connected a section I6 which is disposed therebeneath, and which is adapted to telescope into the section I5, as best seen in Figure 2. The section I5 opens downwardly and is provided with inturned lower edges I1 and the section I6 opens upwardly and is provided with outturned upper edges I8 which engage over the edges I 1 for connecting the sections I5 and I6 andV for `limiting the outward movement of the section IB relatively to the section I5.

A bracket I9 is attached to each side of the closure I3 and is connected at its upper end to a exible supporting member or chain 20. As best seen in Figure 1, the chains 20 extend upwardly through the channel portions I2 and are adapted to be connected to raising and lowering or counterbalancing means, not shown. A pawl or latch element 2| is pivotally connected at 22 at its upper end, to the lower portion of each 0f the brackets I9. The pawls or latch members 2| each depend downwardly from the bracket y f I9, to which it is connected, and is disposed in a channel portion I2. The latch elements 2| are each provided with an enlargement 23 at its lower end which extends through a slot 24 into an end of the space formed by the telescoping sections I5 and IB. A hanger 25 is secured by fastenings 26 in the intermediate portion 21 of the section I5, adjacent each end thereof. each of the hangers 25, at its lower end, is pivotally connected a lever 28. The levers 28 are pivotally mounted, intermediate of their ends, at 29, and are each composed of the arms 30 and 3| which are disposed at obtuse angles to one another and which are provided with rollers 32 at their free ends. Each of the enlargements 23 is provided with an inner edge 33 which bears against a roller 32 of an arm 30. The normal positions of the latch elements 2I'are illustrated by the position of the one latch element 2|, shown in Figure 2.v The latch elements 2| in their normal retracted positions hold the levers 28 so that the arms 3| thereof will engage and retain the lower telescopingv section I 6 in an extended position.

A rack bar 34 is disposed in each of the channels |2 and is fastened to the outer face of a side 35 of a pillar The teeth 36 of the rack bars 34` are inclined upwardly and the rack bars 34 extend from the lower end of the frame I8 upwardly at least to the level assumed by the rail |4 when the closure I3 is in a fully raised position.

From the foregoing it' will be obvious that if as the closure I3 is moving downwardly in the opening of the frame I D it strikes an obstruction in theframe opening, the telescoping section I6, which forms the lower and leading edge of the closure I3 when it is moving downwardly, will strike the obstruction and be thereby forced upwardly and inwardly relatively to the'section I5 for rocking the arms 3| upwardly to thereby swing the arms 30 outwardly and downwardly to swing the lower ends of the latch elements 2| outwardly so that their portions 31 will engage corresponding teeth 38 of4 the rack bars 34 for latching the closure I3 to the pillars II to prevent further downward movement thereof. As the teeth 36 are inclined upwardly the engagement of the portions 3l with the teeth 36 will not prevent the closure I3 from being raised. When the closure I3 is raised the lower ends of the latch elements 2| will be released and will swing inwardly and back to their normal position to engage and rock thelevers 23 back to their normal positions and cause said levers to return the section I6 to a projected position, if it has not assumed this position of its own accord, thereby again positioningk the parts so that A safety attachment for vertically sliding closures, comprising a vertically slidable closure having a bottom rail formed of telescoping sections, a frame slidably mounting said closure and provided with a rack bar, a pawl pivotally mounted on said sliding closure, a lever pivotally mounted, intermediate of its ends, in said telescoping sections and having one end engaging against the bottom section and the opposite end engaging against said pawl whereby said lever will be actuated when the last mentioned section l is moved inwardly relatively to the other of said saidleverbeingmovable independently of said the latch members 2| may again be; projected, when an obstruction is encountered in the frame i..

opening.

Various modications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to as only a preferred embodiment of vthe invention has been disclosed.

I claim as my invention:

[last .mentionedfsection and pawl, and said last mentionedsectlion and pawl being movable independently of each other so that the last mentioned section can move outwardly of the other section while the pawl remains in latching engagement with the rack bar.

OLIVER D. KINGSLAND. 

